Tips & Tricks — The Pultec Passive EQ Collection

It’s almost impossible to walk into any commercial studio and not see at least one Pultec EQ in the rack. In production from the early 1950s to the early 80s, Pultec EQs have played an integral part in nearly 50 years of recording history — from tracking to mixing to mastering. Universal Audio has recreated three classic models from the Pultec line with the Pultec Passive EQ Plug-In Collection: the EQP-1A Program EQ, the MEQ-5 Midrange EQ, and the HLF-3C Filter Set. All offer a ton of practical and musical possibilities.

I used all three EQs from the Pultec Passive EQ Collection on the track below:

Pultec EQP-1A

The EQP-1A is a three band EQ with a layout that may be less than intuitive to a new user. Here’s a visual breakdown of the controls associated with each of the bands; Low Shelf, High Peak and High Shelf.

The classic Pultec EQP-1A.

Key to the EQP-1A’s uniqueness is its ability to simultaneously boost and cut a selected frequency. How can it do both? Well, the Boost control has slightly higher gain than the Attenuation control has cut, and the frequencies they affect are slightly different. So when you combine the two controls around a chosen frequency, it allows you to tune their interaction. The end result is not only musical; it’s very useful as well. Here are a few examples of how an EQP-1A might be used.

Using the EQP-1A on the Stereo BusThe EQP-1A can be great for extending the tonal range of your mixes. With these settings, I’ve opened up the track’s top-end response and I’ve used the Boost/Attenuate controls to make the low-end bigger without it becoming muddy or overwhelming.

Settings for the Pultec EQP-1A on the stereo bus.

Here is the full mix without the EQP-1A:

And here’s the mix running through the EQP-1A:

Shaping the Kick Drum With the EQP-1A For the kick, here’s what I did to get some “point” on it, as well as a touch more bottom. I also used the Attenuation control to keep the kick from getting too out of control on the bottom.

These settings added definition and punch to the kick drum.

Here’s the original kick drum:

Here’s the same kick drum running through the Pultec EQP-1A:

Dialing-in Distorted Guitar Here is a setting that worked well on the electric guitar. Again, I’m really able to shape the low-end by combining the Boost and Attenuate controls.

These settings worked great for a distorted guitar track.

Here’s the guitar without the Pultec:

And here it is with the Pultec:

Pultec MEQ-5

The MEQ-5 Midrange EQ provides two boost bands and one dip band in the midrange region. This EQ is very useful for adding presence and punch to your tracks. It’s also helpful for clearing out problem areas in the midrange frequencies that can make a mix cloudy.

The Pultec MEQ-5.

Bringing Forth the Bass In this example, I wanted to bring the bass forward in the mix, while also creating more clarity and space. The 1 kHz boost and the 300 Hz dip worked well for this.

Here are the settings for the bass guitar track.

This is the original bass track:

And here is the bass after running it through the Pultec MEQ-5:

Crafting a Fatter, More Detailed Snare In this example, I wanted to make the snare bigger while adding a bit of presence as well.

MEQ-5 settings for the snare track.

This is the original snare track:

Here is the same snare using the MEQ-5 — it's a little beefier, yet the snap remains:

Pultec HLF-3C

The final model of the Pultec Passive EQ Collection is the HLF-3C, which provides 12 dB per octave low and high cut filters. Not only is the HLF-3C helpful for tweaking instruments, this powerful steep-sloped filter can also remove unwanted hiss and rumble from your tracks.

The classic Pultec HLF-3C.

Get Skinny! Here’s a filtering effect on a DI guitar.

This setting produces a funky, almost lo-fi effect.

Here’s the guitar without the HLF-3C — it sounds good but it’s larger than it needs to be:

And here’s the same guitar part using the HLF-3C. I’ve basically made it smaller and much easier to place in the mix:

Hopefully these examples illustrate how the Pultec Passive EQ Collection can liven up and shape your tracks. These classic EQs are easy to use and their musicality is apparent as soon as you insert one on a track. Best of luck and have fun!

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Jez Colin said
Very informative - especially seeing how you use the Boost and Attenuation controls in tandem - always been a bit of a mystery to me - looking forward to applying to some of this to my next mix!
Ken Miller said
Where in the world would we be without Universal Audio? I can't even remember what mixing was like before I replaced nearly all my favorite plugs with UAD-2 Plug-ins. Thank you for your wisdom and guidance in polishing and shining our tracks.
Joel DuBay said
Really great John! Thank you for this!
Alex Groove Master Martin-Blanken said
Lovin this!
Mike Janosko said
These eq's are killer on toms!
Frederic Delchambre said
Hi, what "dip band" means in the Meq-5 ? Thank's from holidays in France :)
Sumit Bajaj Insan said
Just fabulous....
Fabrizio Diglio said
Very helpful thx!